A Few Good Chosens
by ForevermoreNevermore
Summary: The gang besides to stay the night at a secluded town, but in an act of gender confusion, they grab the wrong Chosen. They're' intent on killing the Sylvaranti Chosen, but Zelos' new found bravery will hear nothing of it.
1. Sand

_Okay, here's another story! I hope you like it, and I hope it sounds right, because it kind of came out funky. It's not yaoi, more like a friendship thing. You could consider it yaoi if you want to, though.  
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_Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

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Wind buffeted the empty plain, unceremoniously kicking up dust and splaying it into the group's eyes. They squinted against it, elbowing their way through the wind almost like it were a thick liquid. Praying to Martel for the wind to stop, or maybe just avoid them for a few seconds, they trudged on. Zelos had been cursing the wind ever since they had stepped foot out of the forest, knowing full well that by the time they reached the other side of the blasted, flat land, his hair could probably be a roosting place for half a dozen birds (as if it wasn't already). He continued to curse the wind, his vanity, and the annoying little pebble that was insistently digging into his heel.

It continued that way for hours. Many endless, horrid hours, before a small town came into view. The sun was beginning to set, so the town lit up slowly as individual little candles were lit, giving it a glowing light that, though comical, was exactly as the small caravan saw the village; their savior. With a muted, passed-on word, they took off, doing their best to run through the wind. When they had finally reached the inside of the city's protecting walls, every one of them was bent over, panting, and trying to talk at the same time. Needless to say, no understandable words came out.

Finally, one of them was able to speak. "It is a good thing that this town was here." Presea said, monotoned as usual. "I do not think we would have been able to camp in that wind."

"A fire would have been near impossible to keep lit." Regal ruminated, admiring the stars that could be barely seen over the steady glow of the town. Zelos thought about that for a moment, only a moment.

"And we would've been left in the dark…" he looked pointedly at Lloyd. "And we all know how I love the dark." He chuckled at their personal joke and Sheena slugged him in the arm.

"Shut up," she huffed, remembering the end of that conversation. Zelos chuckled, ending by extending one of his laughs into a sigh and rubbing his new addition to the bruise collection. "If you don't watch your step, you'll end up looking like a giant prune." For a moment they peered at each other, then Sheena gave a small laugh. "You're hair's terrible. Looks like you got birds roosting in there."

Colette saved Zelos from spouting off another rebuttal and getting another bruise. "Hey Sheena! Isn't that one of your friends?" The small procession followed her pointed finger to see a man garbed in traditional Mizuho garbs talking to a man that looked to be of Holy background. Sheena turned away from the proclaimed 'idiot Chosen' and looked at the man, confusion etched on her face.

"What's wrong? Can't remember all of your conquests?" Zelos snickered, taking a sidestep and avoiding her slap. She glared at him through chocolate-brown eyes, and Zelos just gave her a triumphant gaze through his violet ones.

"I know _everyone_ in Mizuho, and he's not one of them! But…" she paused and narrowed her eyes in scrutiny, trying to get a better look at the man. "He does look familiar. You know, kind of like one of those faces in the crowd, just don't remember where." She turned and ran over to the ninja, shouting out a sharp 'oi'.

Zelos tried to eavesdrop, but he kept getting interrupted by frivolous comments his friends made.

"Wow!" Genis cried, glancing around at the tall wall and even taller buildings. "This place is huge! I can't believe it's out here in the middle of nowhere." Zelos nodded his head in distracted agreement, but still, he was continuously interrupted.

"Indeed. I wonder how they get water, seeing as there's no supply in the middle of the desert." Presea noted, prompting an agreement from Regal.

"Maybe they've used some form of Magitechnology to pump the water from a source outside of the desert." Raine reasoned, gently hugging her middle in thought. The others tried to imagine ways of getting water to a dry destination, and Zelos managed to overhear a small snippet of information.

"…I'd heard that you had gone to assassinate the Chosen of Sylverant, but failed and brought them _here?_" His voice was a mix of astonished anger and dangerous intentions.  
"What damage could another Chosen possibly do here?" Sheena's voice was high in defense.

"Or they dug deep enough." Lloyd pointed to a small well poking innocently out of the ground. Raine blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes, that makes sense. Nice observation, Lloyd." She sniffed, trying to grasp onto her remaining dignity. Genis laughed and opened his mouth to make a comment, but one dark glare from his sister that promised him plenty of pain, stopped him in his tracks. "When Sheena gets down, we better go find an inn for the night." She glanced around the group, and Zelos finally gave up trying to overhear. "I assume you know your rooms…"

"Yup!" The redheaded Chosen looped his arm around Lloyd's neck, letting him settle in the crook of his elbow. "Me and bud get to bunk!" There was a slight sigh and Zelos looked down to see his bud blowing at his bangs. "Don't act so happy."

"I won't!" he laughed, throwing his red arm over Zelos's shoulder, mimicking his position. They stayed like that for a moment, their awkward position teetering for a minute. Then, like an invisible wind had blown, they fell over, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"Geniuses…" Sheena muttered as she wandering back over to the group. Her eyes were distracted and thoughtful.

"So, did you know him?" Lloyd asked, still on the ground with his arm over Zelos and vice-versa.

"Nope, but he's from my village." She mumbled, still thoughtful.

"Are you sure?" Zelos asked. The dust muffled his voice. Sheena shot him a glare.

"Yes, I'm sure!" she growled, kicking dust over his fallen body. He coughed and Lloyd gave a shout. "Oh, sorry Lloyd."

"No, no _I'm_ fine!" Zelos grumbled, finally picking his face out of the dirt. He let out a whimper, "my face."

"Oh wah!" Sheena let out a mock cry and turned back towards the tall buildings, she set a foot forward, then turned to give the group an almond-eyed stare. "Are we going to go to the inn or what?" And she was off, her obnoxiously huge pink ribbon flailing helplessly behind her. Lloyd and Zelos shot Raine a look, and everybody else quickly mimicked them.

The professor gave a sigh and followed her room mate, "I'll try to see what's wrong tonight. She _is_ a little more volatile than usual." The other's followed and Zelos and Lloyd sat for a minute in the dust.

"Man, she's mad isn't she?" Lloyd asked, propping his arm over his knee. Zelos grunted and stood, offering his semi-gloved hand to the downed swordsman.

"Geez bud, you must not know anything about women. They're _always _mad about something," Lloyd grasped his hand and propped himself up, but almost pulled Zelos down on top of him. "Man, you need to go on a diet!"

"Really? Colette never seems to be mad," he ruminated as the two followed the crowd. Zelos rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Ah… there's the loop in the rule, My little angel… is she really fit to be categorized as a normal women?"

"Yeah, guess you're right…" he grudgingly admitted, giving Zelos the room for an indignant, hurt face.

"You hurt me right here," the redhead put a fist to his heart and flung his arm back around Lloyd's shoulders, allowing it to slide right into place like it had been carved to fit there, "acting like you didn't think I'd be right. You expect me to be wrong like some country bumpkin," he shot a gaze down at his friend and received a playful punch to his side.

"Hey! I'm hardly wrong! I give the right answer… you just ask the wrong question."

"Bumpkin logic…" he sighed, thumping the brunette's cheek lightly, but affectionately.

It was early… too early in Zelos' thinking to have to wake up. He yawned and stretched his arms, popping his neck. He stopped in the middle of the square, and cast a glance around at the vendors. Men sat behind their stalls, calling out their goods and holding them up for show. Some men held up round fruit, while other's allowed their swords to gleam happily in the sun. His glance caught on a particularly pretty young lady that sat behind a booth, glancing fondly at her wares. Jewels and charms sat on the slanted booth, reveling in their intricate designs and magical shimmers. _Bet one of those would cheer up my precious little ninja,_ he absently ran a hand into his pocket and felt his plan blow up in front of his face. They hardly had enough to afford provisions, so they definitely didn't have enough for a trinket.

"Hey there!" the lady called, gently leaning over the counter to put forward a beckoning hand. Zelos glanced around, but saw no one, so he swaggered over and bent so that he was even with her golden gaze. He gave her a signature smirk.

"Those gold trinkets have nothing on your golden eyes. They're so rich you would never have to buy anything from me, you've already got my affection," he laughed, planting his palms on the counter and matching her gaze. _If I keep this up, I might get a big enough discount._

"Why you little silver-tongued demon," she hissed, putting her palms right beside his so she could move closer. Zelos matched her advance, and their noses were almost touching. Her breath quickened and he smelt the seductive scent of cherries and strawberries.

"Quite the opposite, actually," he laughed at the irony, and the saleswomen's slight smile faulted and Zelos backpedaled. "But, I can be as bad as you want," he snapped his teeth, and the lady's grin evaporated.

"Angel?" At the word, a man turned to look at the two, then disappeared into an alleyway.

"Well, if we're going to play petnames…" the saleswomen backed up and shook her head.

"No, you're an Angel, aren't you?" Zelos backed up and stared at her. "A-a Chosen?"

Zelos let out a sniff, "You bet I am." Still, she backed up until she had her back against the brick wall.

"Which one?" her hissed words hit him like the broad side of a sword. _This is what got Sheena's ninja underwear in a bunch._ He stuttered for a moment, not used to people in his world knowing about the other one.

"T-Tethe'allen," he finally answered, furrowed his brow in thought. _Hostile chick… probably wouldn't be good for my sweet little Colette._ On a whim, he'd made a decision, albeit a totally out of character decision. _Lloyd must be rubbing off on me_. He gave a nervous laugh, "what other one could there be?"

"I'm sure _I_ don't know," she snapped, glancing wildly around the square. Zelos slid into her line of view and gave her a disarming smile.

"My dear, why so hostile?"

"Why so hostile?" she repeated her voice dangerously close to a quiet shout. "You're going to _kill us all_!" Zelos took that as his point to run, and he noticed it was too late to not gather attention. He ran through the alleys, the people's gazes now a glare as they watched his read hair fly out behind him. The tall buildings looked about ready to swallow him up, they leered down at him and waited for him to make a wrong turn so they could devour him in a dead end. Nonetheless, he turned the right corner and found the door to the inn. Obviously, the people on this side of town hadn't heard the gossip yet, as they were yet to shoot him angry glares only curious glances. He threw open the door and slammed it, planting his back to it and spreading his arms to restrain it.

"Zelos!" Lloyd cried in surprise, then his surprise changed to concern as he saw the glistening sheen of sweat and the fear on his friend's face. "Zelos?"

"Guys… girls… Sheena…" there was a muffled curse, and Zelos laughed inwardly, though he hadn't meant it that way, "Sheena… I know why you were mad…yesterday…" he panted, still trying to catch his breath. The raven-headed ninja stared at him in surprise.

"But how? That guy said…"

"That guy told everyone in town!" There was a shared gasp from Raine and Sheena. "We need to book it!" And at that exact moment, every candle in the inn fluttered into darkness.

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_Bwa-ha-ha! Cliffhanger! I hope you like it!_


	2. In the Inn

_Okay... I don't know WHAT gave me the idea that his eyes were violet, but that's what I put and I apologize profusely for it! Here's the next chapter and thanks for your reviews!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia._

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Categorically, if Zelos had to put this day in a file and in order, it would go alongside 'day he found out his girlfriend was a guy' and 'the day he betrayed his friends'. _Why are all the girls I flirt with out to kill me?_ He thought, searching the darkness for the familiar curvy shape of Sheena. He still had his back against the wall, thinking it was a safe position to be in at the moment. Footsteps echoed around the inn, and he blinked. The world through Angel-tinted eyes was always clearer. He saw his friends, standing confused around the room. Colette and Lloyd were the only ones who seemed to be able to move without bumping into anything (and that's something for Colette). But, it wasn't their footsteps that filled the air.

It seemed a whole army of men had crawled in from- oh Martel knows where. They were swarming around the two doorless exits. The familiar sounds of metal sounded as swords were drawn, and Zelos saw Lloyd pull his out slowly. He looked around, apparently not seeing the enemy yet. And, with a twitch of anxiety to his stomach, he noticed his naive friend was closest to the group. He opened his mouth to warn him, but it was too late.

Light blossomed in the room, as every candle in the room was re-lit simultaneously. It assaulted Zelos's advanced vision and he hissed, closing his eyes. While he tried to clear the spots dancing in his vision, swords crossed. The owners of the swords grunted, then one of them cursed. Just as Zelos cleared his vision, something hard flew into his gut. Instinctively, he thrust his arms out to catch the thing and heard a groan of pain.

"Lloyd?" he asked, his voice barely carrying through the tension-thick air. The brunette still lagged in his arms.

"Yeah."

"You okay, bud?" he asked, hoisting him into a move comfortable position. The young swordsman shrugged out of his grasp and stood.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grunted, fixing a grim grin on his face before turning back to the enemies. No one had died yet, and the only one's fighting were Sheena and the ninja they saw yesterday. They danced around each other, neither making a move yet. Sheena had her cards ready, and the other guy had small knives in his hand. Then, in a movement quicker than even Zelos' eyes could follow, the man disarmed Sheena and threw her back into her friends. Raine caught the young ninja before she could fall.

"What do you want?" Sheena coughed, standing up and glaring down the man.

"I'm sure you can guess," he looked pointedly at Zelos. "We discussed this yesterday."

"Well, you might as well ask for something else!" Sheena hissed, pulling out two more cards.

"We want the Chosen, you're not going to stop us!" the girl from the counter snapped, stepping out from the crowd. Colette stepped forward, pulling out her Chackrams.

"Which one?" she asked innocently. This seemed to put the group out of their swing of things. The girl glared at the redheaded Chosen. She put a hand on her hip.

"Which one? The only one you have with you, of course." She contemptuously pointed at the redhead, ignoring the questioning look on Colette and everybody else's faces. "The one that's supposed to be dead." _She reminds me of mom_… Zelos thought, his memories coming back to slap him in the face.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Zelos stepped forward. Men flooded in the door, prompting him and Lloyd to step back to the group. They kept coming like an open tap, filling up the room and causing the small gang to be forced into a tight circle.

"What do you want to do? Kill him?" Lloyd snarled, edging closer to Zelos.

"If you do that, what do you think will happen to your world?" Raine snapped, brandishing her staff. Shockingly, the response she was apparently hoping for wasn't the one they got. The laughed, patronizingly and demeaning.

"It will flourish!" The Holy Man the ninja had been talking to yesterday stepped forward and leered at Zelos.

"How, praytell, will it flourish?" Regal asked, tensing. Presea, who stood next to him, dropped her ax to the ground with its sharp edge facing up.

The Holy Man laughed. "You people above all should know that. If we exterminate the Sylvaranti Chosen, then Tethe'alla will be free to flourish with our mana!" This caught the group on unawares, save for Zelos. Colette timidly raised a hand.

"But sir, you see, I'm the-"

Zelos interrupted, "She's the Tethe'allen Chosen. When you said that there was only one Chosen, you confused her." This caught the group on more than unawares, more like with the pants down. Colette turned to him with a blue-eyed stare, scribbled with confusion.

"Zelos?" she asked, echoing the thoughts of everyone in the room. Any further conversation was stopped as the ninja swept forward, grabbing Colette in a dance-like embrace, and then waltzed her back to crowd.

"Colette!" Lloyd shouted, his voice thick with anger. Colette dizzily swirled into the Holy Man, who grabbed her gently before bowing before her. The young Angel, whose dizziness didn't help her natural clumsiness, tipped over, and then was quickly caught by the ninja.

"Oh, Chosen, forgive me! We did not mean to threaten you, we only want to get rid of the only problem standing between us and an eternity of happiness!" he took this time to oh-so-typically glare at Zelos witheringly. "Korai, escort our lovely angel out of town and to the nearest town. When we get done here, this town will be no place for _our_ Chosen." The ninja, Korai, nodded and disappeared, taking with him Colette. As soon as they had left, the Holy Man threw his gaze back on the gang, who was busily filling in the hole Colette had made, causing Zelos and Sheena to draw close. "Now, lets get down to business."

"There's no _business_ to get down to!" Lloyd spat, his swords agreeing with a screeching sound as they ground against each other. Their surroundings broke into laughter.

"My, my, what a ferocious young man!" the Holy Man laughed. Zelos watched as his friend's face reddened.

"D-Don't patronize me!" he shouted, sounding like a young kid. So, to save his friends small dignity, Zelos decided to step up.

"So, all you guys want to do is kill me?" he asked, his face set with a degrading smirk. A new laugh entered the fray as the Korai returned.

"No, we want you to wish you'd never been born," he said through laughs, making his child-like joy sound sadistic. Zelos snorted but was touched as he felt the circle tense around him.

"You don't have to try hard for that," Zelos shot back, making the laughter die away a little bit, and prompting a questioning look from his bud. He still had the smirk on his face, but it turned into a reassuring smile when he turned to Lloyd.

"Well then, that makes our job all the more easier!" Korai snapped, situating his small knives so they were easier to handle. The circle tensed further as everyone coiled themselves so tight, one of them was bound to burst. The ninja eyed them, their faces were weary, but ready to fight. "But why get your friends involved?" he asked, lowering his knives as he gauged their skill.

A single ruby eyebrow raised almost to the headband wrapped around his head. "Meaning…?"

"Ha!" Sheena gave a single mocking laugh. "You're afraid of us!" she said, smugly staring down the ninja.

He growled at her, "No! I'm trying to avoid unnecessary deaths!" his tone changed. "It would be such a shame if one of you died, seeing as your group is already so small." He looked at them, his stance superior. "You have such young members in your group, so young and nieve…"

"Hey!" Genis squeaked, leering at the ninja. "I hope you weren't talking to me," he growled, and Zelos could already see the plan forming in the Brat's mind. "I'll burn the inn down around your freakin' ears!"

"If you do that, the outcome of our survival is 5%," Presea apathetically shot down his anger-fed plan.

"As I said, nieve," Korai laughed, then trailed off and glared at Zelos triumphantly. He thought about it, if they fought them all in the inn. His heart clenched at the thought of Sheena, or the young Presea lying dead. The images of his dead friends made his insides clench up, but when his mind ran across Lloyd, his eyes open and cloudy, he banished the thought telling it to never come back, _ever_. "I'll tell you what," his easy voice slapped Zelos out of his thoughts. "I'll wager you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" his voice was tentative and shaky from his recent thought, giving the ninja the idea that he had won.

"If you come quietly now, I'll let one of your friends stay in this town for three days."

"What-" Zelos began, but was quieted by a glare.

"During those three days, your friend may come and free you. Now what do you say?" he cheekily glared at the army behind him.

"I never was a good damsel-in-distress," Zelos muttered, absently picturing himself in a pink dress with the pointy hat. He pushed that thought away for a moment, and considered the deal. "What happens if they don't get to me?"

"You die."

Zelos snorted, how often had he heard that? "Oh, sounds fair enough." Sarcasm practically dripped venom from his words.

"No! It's not!" Lloyd said to him, then turned to the ninja. "There's no deal! We're going to get out of this town and you're not going to get a chance to even touch this Chosen!" he shouted.

"Wanna bet?" Korai asked. One moment, Zelos was in-between Sheena and Lloyd, and the next he was looking into their stunned eyes. _Well isn't this craptastic?_ He thought, wryly noticing the small blade pricking obnoxiously at his neck. "Well look-y here, I'm touching him." He gently ran a finger down his cheek.

"Hey! You have no right to touch _this_ face!" Zelos snapped. The blade quietly commanded silence.

"Stop!" Lloyd shouted, his voice livid. The group seemed to coil even tighter, not daring to move but not daring to relax.

"So, which one of staying?" the Holy Man asked casually. "Or we can just kill him and get him out of everybody's hair." They passed strained looks at each other, mentally debating. Zelos locked gazes with Lloyd, who'd never taken his almond eyes off the scene. In one smooth motion, he sheathed his swords and stepped forward.

"I'll stay." His voice was hard and cold as he stared at the army surrounding them. The group stopped in the middle of debating and stared at him. Korai appraised him, absently tapping his knife to Zelos' throat.

"Hey, hey! That's my throat you're contemplating on!" Zelos growled, but only loud enough for ninja to hear. Lloyd's gaze never wavered from his prone neck and the knife, his eyes filled with fear and hatred. Zelos met his gaze and his emotions were replaced with anguish. Korai laughed.

"Ah-ha-ha, emotion always makes things more interesting." He paused to drink in Lloyd's livid expression. "Fine, young swordsman, you may stay but everyone else must leave and not interfere!" he finished, sweeping a glare over the still shocked group. Sheena shook her head and stepped forward.

"Wait a second, how is that fair? Lloyd against your whole town!" she reasoned, gesturing to the lingering crowd. Korai growled and gripped the Chosen harder, prompting his heart to leap into his throat.

"Either take my deal or I can make his pale neck as red as his hair!" Raine lowered her staff and sighed, her will defeated.

"Okay. We accept your terms." She waved her hand in front of her younger brother when he started to object. "We'll leave, but a quick question. Where will you keep the Chosen?" Lloyd straightened and turned to the group.

"Yeah, at least give me that!" he clenched his fists. Korai grinned and grunted, prompting a young man to step up, holding what looked to be twine snakes. Zelos' swallowed at the sight of the ropes. The ninja fought for Zelos' hands then yanked them unceremoniously behind his back. The snakes seemed almost happy to be in his grip as he twined them around his wrists. They tightened and the red-headed Chosen imagined his hands were already turning blue. A yelp escaped his throat as Korai grasped his hair near the roots and pulled his head back.

"You're not in any place to make demands!" he spat. "Can you read tea leaves?" After a sharp moment of pain then a lingering stinging under the knife, Zelos watched as the ninja flicked his hand with amazing speed and his own blood dashed the ground. "Then you should be able to read that!" The crowd chuckled mockingly while Lloyd stared, his face unreadable, at the stain.

Zelos swept his gaze from his own blood up to the ninja's unfeeling eyes. "That… hurt," he hissed, slightly childishly. Korai merely sniffed and readjusted his hold.

"It's not much of a game if I tell you the shortcuts," the Holy Man chuckled, examining his nails in the 'Holiest' of ways.

"That's not a shortcut!" Lloyd spat, rubbing his foot over the blood. "That's just the destination!"

"Well, consider your destination unknown." The counter girl laughed, followed by another round of insistent chuckling. Honestly, it was beginning to grate on Zelos' nerves (and by Lloyd's face, his as well.) "Calem, I think it's time to get going." The Holy Man turned to he then grunted.

"I think you're right, Tawny." Tawny nodded slightly before turning and leaving the room. "I would tell you to just get lost, but I don't really trust you to do that." Then the crowd encroached… then suddenly pounced. The redheaded Chosen could only watch in despair as his friends were knocked out one by one. They fell individually without being able to put up a fight. Once the others were down, they surrounded Lloyd, who was silently fuming and not so silently voicing his opinion.

"Well, we can't have you screaming out your position, now can we?" came Korai's laughing whisper. The last thing Zelos saw was Lloyd's worried face when he turned to him, but the laughing was not from his friend.

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_Bwa-ha-ha! I dropped ya'll off a cliffhanger! I hope you like it! You give reviews, you get Cyber Starbucks!_


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